Range report - Ruger 10/22

Botswana · August 5, 2012, 09:02 PM

No pictures. Forgot. I’ll blame it on the heat, which was ridiculous.

Thanks to the fine people of TFL, I purchased a 10/22 this week and took it to the range today. My son and I sighted in the rifle on the 15 yard range and once we felt like we had the measure of it did most of our work on the 25 yard range. Eventually we moved on to 50 because I was punching a hole in the center of my targets at 25 yard. I don’t have much experience with anything over 25 yards, so I found out today that I apparently shoot high at 50 yards using a .22 rifle.

I have the majority of my shooting experience with 22 rifles and have done plinking, target shooting, and hunting with them. As this is only the second autoloader I’ve ever used in .22 LR, I wasn’t expecting much, but I think it’s just as accurate as any .22 rifle I’ve ever fired. The rear leaf sight was new to me, but didn’t take much for me to get used to.

As some may recall, I wanted an autoloader that was not finicky about ammunition. Here is what I got -

310 rounds of Winchester 36gr, 1 FTE
50 rounds of Federal Champion 40gr, no problems
50 rounds of CCI Mini-Mags, no problems
50 rounds of Winchester Wildcat 40gr, 1 Misfire
50 rounds of Remington Thunderbolt 40gr, 1 FTE

3 issues in 510 rounds. Not a perfect performance, but it’s still an A+. I may give the Federal another shot as it was the only low cost ammunition without issues, but the Winchester 555 box has still only produced 2 problems between 2 firearms so far.

Downsides? The safety is mushy and makes me nervous. It’s a modern gun so probably no worries but it’s not a confidence booster. Not a huge deal as I keep it unloaded at the house but if I ever use it in the field it will be something to keep in mind.

Also, the bolt release is tricky and takes some getting used to. It’s unintuitive and sometimes feels like trying to perform one of those Chinese finger puzzles. That can be a little frustrating as the range we shoot at insists you have the bolt open during cease fires.

My son had some problems seating the magazines. I get that the rotary magazines are supposed to be more reliable but they are a bit of a pain. I’ll be purchasing some BX-25’s soon so we have something other than the standard BX-1’s. Also, as I mentioned in another thread, the rifle itself only comes with one magazine. I was able to pick up 2 more on clearance so I was lucky there.

There is no “field stripping”, at least in the sense I consider it. You need some basic tools for dis-assembly. It’s not complicated and we’re talking a couple of screwdrivers, but a little annoying. Not a major issue though.

Overall, this is a fantastic rifle and is now officially my second favorite .22 rifle ever. Well worth the $197 I paid for it (pre-tax price), especially since I would have gone higher and almost bought it someplace else for $230. Still would have been worth it, though I’d rather spend the difference on ammunition.

MikeGunz · August 5, 2012, 09:54 PM

There are after market bolt releases that only require pulling at it back to send it forward. Pretty convenient for only $8

madcratebuilder · August 6, 2012, 06:49 AM

You can go here

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/index.php

and see just what you can do with the Ruger 10/22

Botswana · August 6, 2012, 07:54 AM

I understand there is usually a fix to the downsides, but I want to shoot guns stock at first to see what is good and what is bad. Since I've been using TFL as a place to "crowdsource", I've been adding this information for future readers that might have the same purpose.

That said, this thing will be tacticooled all to hell by the time we get done with it. I've got a rough idea of which stock I plan on getting for it, though the BX-25 magazines and an optic are probably higher priority.

I've seen some comments about other, cheaper, autoloaders but everyone execpt the Remington was picky about ammunition and the Remington has other problems.

I have to admit, it took some doing to really come up with some downsides. This is not an easy rifle to criticize.

Pahoo · August 6, 2012, 11:57 AM

MikeGunz + 1

Quote:

Pretty convenient for only $8

Or, if you are into tinkering you can modify the OEM release. I will never understand why they don't come this way, from the factory. Must be part of their CYA program. ....

At any rate, glad you got in some good range-time ...

Be Safe !!!

j3ffr0 · August 6, 2012, 08:20 PM

Congrats one the 10/22 and your enjoyment of it. They are a lot of fun to shoot. I got used to the slide release on mine after a couple of trips to the range.

August 5, 2012, 09:02 PM	#1
Botswana Senior Member Join Date: July 4, 2012 Posts: 203	Range report - Ruger 10/22 No pictures. Forgot. I’ll blame it on the heat, which was ridiculous. Thanks to the fine people of TFL, I purchased a 10/22 this week and took it to the range today. My son and I sighted in the rifle on the 15 yard range and once we felt like we had the measure of it did most of our work on the 25 yard range. Eventually we moved on to 50 because I was punching a hole in the center of my targets at 25 yard. I don’t have much experience with anything over 25 yards, so I found out today that I apparently shoot high at 50 yards using a .22 rifle. I have the majority of my shooting experience with 22 rifles and have done plinking, target shooting, and hunting with them. As this is only the second autoloader I’ve ever used in .22 LR, I wasn’t expecting much, but I think it’s just as accurate as any .22 rifle I’ve ever fired. The rear leaf sight was new to me, but didn’t take much for me to get used to. As some may recall, I wanted an autoloader that was not finicky about ammunition. Here is what I got - 310 rounds of Winchester 36gr, 1 FTE 50 rounds of Federal Champion 40gr, no problems 50 rounds of CCI Mini-Mags, no problems 50 rounds of Winchester Wildcat 40gr, 1 Misfire 50 rounds of Remington Thunderbolt 40gr, 1 FTE 3 issues in 510 rounds. Not a perfect performance, but it’s still an A+. I may give the Federal another shot as it was the only low cost ammunition without issues, but the Winchester 555 box has still only produced 2 problems between 2 firearms so far. Downsides? The safety is mushy and makes me nervous. It’s a modern gun so probably no worries but it’s not a confidence booster. Not a huge deal as I keep it unloaded at the house but if I ever use it in the field it will be something to keep in mind. Also, the bolt release is tricky and takes some getting used to. It’s unintuitive and sometimes feels like trying to perform one of those Chinese finger puzzles. That can be a little frustrating as the range we shoot at insists you have the bolt open during cease fires. My son had some problems seating the magazines. I get that the rotary magazines are supposed to be more reliable but they are a bit of a pain. I’ll be purchasing some BX-25’s soon so we have something other than the standard BX-1’s. Also, as I mentioned in another thread, the rifle itself only comes with one magazine. I was able to pick up 2 more on clearance so I was lucky there. There is no “field stripping”, at least in the sense I consider it. You need some basic tools for dis-assembly. It’s not complicated and we’re talking a couple of screwdrivers, but a little annoying. Not a major issue though. Overall, this is a fantastic rifle and is now officially my second favorite .22 rifle ever. Well worth the $197 I paid for it (pre-tax price), especially since I would have gone higher and almost bought it someplace else for $230. Still would have been worth it, though I’d rather spend the difference on ammunition.

August 5, 2012, 09:54 PM	#2
MikeGunz Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2011 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 195	There are after market bolt releases that only require pulling at it back to send it forward. Pretty convenient for only $8

August 6, 2012, 06:49 AM	#3
madcratebuilder Senior Member Join Date: November 2, 2007 Location: Northern Orygun Posts: 4,923	You can go here http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/index.php and see just what you can do with the Ruger 10/22

August 6, 2012, 07:54 AM	#4
Botswana Senior Member Join Date: July 4, 2012 Posts: 203	I understand there is usually a fix to the downsides, but I want to shoot guns stock at first to see what is good and what is bad. Since I've been using TFL as a place to "crowdsource", I've been adding this information for future readers that might have the same purpose. That said, this thing will be tacticooled all to hell by the time we get done with it. I've got a rough idea of which stock I plan on getting for it, though the BX-25 magazines and an optic are probably higher priority. I've seen some comments about other, cheaper, autoloaders but everyone execpt the Remington was picky about ammunition and the Remington has other problems. I have to admit, it took some doing to really come up with some downsides. This is not an easy rifle to criticize.

August 6, 2012, 08:20 PM	#6
j3ffr0 Senior Member Join Date: June 21, 2012 Location: VA Posts: 199	Congrats one the 10/22 and your enjoyment of it. They are a lot of fun to shoot. I got used to the slide release on mine after a couple of trips to the range.